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hey gang, my name is mike, and i now have in my possession two xj's. i had no real intention of owning a jeep, i kinda got the first one by accident
my brother is a former wrangler/current XJ owner. he's on the site here as well... i'm waiting to see how long it takes him to find me
I have a 1998 4runner that has been a FANTASTIC vehicle, so it was kinda the brother vs brother, jeep vs 4 runner thing
anyway, i was at the cars for kids charity auction looking for a replacement for my 96 mitsubishi mirage. it was a great little car, but i wanted something different. i was thinking of getting some kind of RWD sports car. i was coming up dry and this white 97 cherokee comes thru and nobody is really bidding on it. it was at $700.. so i start bidding and i end up getting it for $900, running and driving. total out the door with tax, tags and everything was just under 1300.00.
i drove it a few miles over to my mother in laws aaaaand, it pukes all the coolant out of the radiator... great start. well, it had just had a new radiator put in it so i start investigating. first up, bad electric fan. get a new fan in it, still runs hot. pull the thermostat, it's stuck half open. put a new one in, runs fine for a couple days, then starts puking again. so i go thru the "burping" procedure.. still puking. but i notice it takes almost no effort to tighten the cap on the radiator. so i buy a new cap.. no dice.. hmmm... i bend the ears down on the cap a little... problem solved! apparently cheap chinese radiator isn't made quite right and the cap doesn't seal good..
anyway, she's fine for a while. it has 236,000 miles on it, so, it's got some issues. it's got a HORRIBLE drive shaft shake, and i notice some VERY shoddy body work on the rockers... like, silicone, newspaper and duct tape..
i'm not kidding.. painted black. mind you, i made a 90 second decision at 40 ft away to buy this thing. and it's got the same treatment underneath, bad rust! but it does at least run and drive! 4wd works, trans shifts good.. motor has low oil pressure and slight knock, but man it goes like a raped ape!! seriously, for a brick this thing hauls! well... engines will sometimes make the most power right before they grenade.. and it hasn't.. yet.
so, by now i've decided that i actually like this thing.. in some ways better than my 4runner. and i'm thinking since my bro has a white 98, and i've got a white 97, i'll just rebuild it and we can be twins! so i buy the slip on rockers for the outside. order a bunch of front end parts, brakes, rotors, shoes, drums, some audio gear.. then i tear out the carpet to start working on the rust underneath. i get my ball peen hammer and start pounding. within an hour i've got more holes than floor the support for the back of the passenger seat is GONE. 7 out of 8 seat bolts just snap off at the floor. well, crap... i've bought a rust bucket. so i start pricing replacement panels and a welder and stuff... i'm gonna end up spending more than i spent on the jeep! dammit, okay. i'll find a jeep with a bad motor and good body. BTW, the engine knock doesn't scare me much, i've been a mechanic for 20 years, i figure if i find a body, i'll just replace the oil pump and main and rod bearings while i've got it out and wala!
So brother and i start looking for a donor body.. not a lot of luck until one day i'm on craigslist and find a 2000 for $3200, runs and drives with 97,000 original miles, 2 owners.. BUT, it's 2wd. BUT.. it's a freedom edition well, that's cool, i'll just swap all my 4wd goodies from the 97 and there we go!
well, i bought it, great guy, real straight forward. paid $3k for it. everything works, power windows and locks, like the 97 did NOT have, but OMG the death wobble!! hey, guess what? i already bought all that stuff! WOOT!
so, here i am with two cherokees. the '00 has a little smack on the right front fender/headlight surround but other than that it's clean. needs some TLC and what i'd call "hard" maintenance. suspension and steering work etc. but now instead of converting it, i think i'm going to leave it 2wd, do a MILD lift on it (rear springs are gone anyway) and use it as my DD. the rust bucket? i'm going to go all in with it! i figure 6" of lift at a minimum, get the floors fixed so i don't end up like mr flintstone, and i'm just going to turn it into a beast!
funny, i said i'd buy myself another enthusiast vehicle ( oh, i used to have a 2004 GTO but i didn't think it would be a jeep! what can i say? i guess that just proves the old adage, don't knock it til you try it!
for giggles, here's my GTO. i traded it in to get the wife something new. she used to drive the 4runner. which my daughter has now. 233,000 all original miles, gotta love toyota reliabilty!
anyway, "the goat" this is what i think about when i say "enthusiast vehicle":
Welcome! I have a similar story to your title as well. My situation was that I needed a reliable 4x4 to handle the snow. I bought a '00 XJ, fell in love with it, and got bit by the Jeep bug real hard! I loved it so much and hated my wife's old caliber so much, that I bought her a new cherokee. It's not as cool or able to handle the snow, but I feel better that my wife has it to move our kid around in as opposed to the caliber.
thanks guys! pulled the seats out of the Freedom this weekend and gave the carpets a good scrub. underneath all the neglect this thing is in really good shape! i don't think the back seat has ever been sat in. also built a subwoofer enclosure for the back replaced the fan belt and the oil pressure sensor. sensor was leaking oil out of the connector, pretty sure it was bad! did some misc stuff, greased the door hinges, etc
a couple weeks ago i replaced all the tie rods and the track bar.. it's coming along!
well guys, after much back and forth and indecision, i've lifted the 2WD and just sold the rust bucket 4wd. you can read about my lift findings and woes in my other posts. but i will say, now that i've got the lift tweaked, and the new wheels and tires on,
the thing rides GREAT and i love it! 3" OME springs in the rear with the third leaf AND the overload leaf removed. pro comp shocks, and i've got cooper 31" at's stuffed under it. had to do a little bumper and fender trimming. may do flat fenders in the future for more clearance. Right now thinking of forgoing the 4wd conversion and just installing a rear locker, front bumper and a winch... but here's where i'm at right now:
not sure why it dropped the pic in the middle of my text there.. whatever.. it's not lower in the back like it looks i the pic, it's just parked in the storm drain
12-21-2014 | 02:25 PM
no jeeps to two jeeps in 60 days!
the support for the back of the passenger seat is GONE. 7 out of 8 seat bolts just snap off at the floor. well, crap... i've bought a rust bucket. so i start pricing replacement panels and a welder and stuff... i'm gonna end up spending more than i spent on the jeep! dammit, okay. i'll find a jeep with a bad motor and good body. BTW, the engine knock doesn't scare me much, i've been a mechanic for 20 years, i figure if i find a body, i'll just replace the oil pump and main and rod bearings while i've got it out and wala! 
